Ministers back RSPB ban on peatland burning in latest blow to field sports
Tory backbenchers accuse Government of bowing to the wildlife charity’s ‘hatred’ of grouse shooting
GROUSE shooting has been put under “sustained attack” after ministers vowed to ban peatland burning, countryside campaigners have claimed.
In the latest blow for field sports, ministers have announced that they will ban peatland burning in order to cut Britain’s carbon footprint.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has long called for a ban on burning, claiming it releases too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and roasts rare lizards alive.
But Tory MPS last night accused the Government of bowing to the RSPB’S “hatred” of grouse shooting and said the ban would negatively impact the centuries-old sport.
Gamekeepers burn vast swathes of peatland every year in order to encourage green shoots for grouse to feed on. Each year, 15 per cent of the land on which grouse are shot is burned to create plentiful “microhabitats” of heather.
It comes a week after the Government agreed to put laws in place that would restrict pheasant shooting across the country by banning their release into protected areas.
Land managers, countryside organisations and MPS argue that targeted burning of peatland creates an ideal habitat for rare birds, as well as managing wildfire risk by getting rid of dry, dead vegetation.
Gareth Dockerty, the upland officer for the British Association of Shooting and Conservation said: “This year there has been a sustained attack against grouse shooting, targeting the use of prescribed burning in our uplands.”
He said the message “ban all burning” was “flawed and based on cherrypicked research”.
Rebecca Pow, the environment minis
ter, told dissenting MPS: “I have met with our chief scientific adviser. I have taken advice from the Science Advisory Council. I have been at pains to analyse all the copious data, much of it conflicting.
“At the moment, the scientific data from the experts, from Defra and from Natural England is that, on balance and in general, in the UK the burning of vegetation on blanket bog moves the bog
away from its original wet state, and risks vulnerable peat bog habitats becoming drier and turning into a heathland habitat.”
Sir Edward Leigh, the Tory MP, said: “It is quite clear that the RSPB has long had a campaign, motivated primarily, I suspect, by its hatred of grouse shooting.”
He said that the issue was more complicated than charities present it, addi ng: “The royal society makes no distinction between two different things: the controlled burning of heather for wildlife management and the burning of peatland.
“Shooting requires careful land management that protects the growth and survival of many species of birds. Rural people have spent decades in careful custodianship of the land and the wildlife that lives in it. Despite that, they find themselves the target of RSPB campaigns that would do serious harm to the environment.”
Robbie Moore, Conservative MP for Keighley added: “The process of burning small areas of heather removes older growth and allows plants to regenerate and thrive.
“New heather, mosses and grass shoots follow, and they, along with the new green flushes of new growth, allow plants such as bilberry to grow, which are key to providing food diversification for many animals such as deer and mountain hares.”
He said the burnt areas also act as “valuable firebreaks”.
However, it appears ministers will take the side of conservation groups, as both Ms Pow and Zac Goldsmith, international environment minister, have committed to phasing out the activity.